The made up holiday, designed to allow my children to be home with me to celebrate “Thanksgiving” when they get older, while allowing them to spend the actual holiday “day” spending it where they’d rather be, has taken on a new meaning over the past couple of years that we’ve hosted. Initially, it was just us, our family of five, fighting around the turkey, just like it really was Thanksgiving. Someone was poking someone else; someone didn’t like peas; someone didn’t want someone else touching them; someone shouldn’t have hidden Mommy’s medicine that stops her eye from twitching.
A year later, with grandparents that hadn’t seen their college aged granddaughter since the summer, we decided to extend the invitation to grandparents. All went well, no one got hurt.
This year, we included extended family and friends, and honestly, it just keeps getting better.
My mom, who has been so sick the past three years, came and saw my new kitchen for the first time since we redid it almost two years ago. Neighbors from our old South Philadelphia neighborhood – that we hadn’t seen since 1976 – were here enjoying catching up on what’s transpired in 36 years. Old friends that have become family and newer friends who we could not love more if they were family joined us in the stress free, no food fight Fakesgiving festivities, and it was awesome!
Day 10 of my 30 days of thanks is just that I am so thankful that we are surrounded by such amazing people. The love and laughter that filled my house yesterday will carry me through the rest of the stress filled holiday season.
